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| Texas wellhead blast kills two workers, injures nine others Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 06:13 PM PDT A wellhead exploded in a hail of shrapnel at a west Texas oil field near the New Mexico border on Wednesday, killing two workers and injuring nine others, a spokesman for the Loving County Sheriff's Office said. A work crew was changing or installing equipment on the wellhead when a buildup of pressure set off the blast, which was heard several miles away at the Red Bluff Reservoir on the Pecos River, Sergeant Deputy Chris Busse told Reuters. Two men, both in their 40s, were pronounced dead at the scene following the explosion, which occurred at about 8:30 a.m. local time near Orla, Texas, roughly 10 miles south of the New Mexico border. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. resists pressure to give India worst offender rating in IP review Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 06:07 PM PDT  By Krista Hughes WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has resisted lobbying by U.S. businesses to take tougher trade action against India for its intellectual property policies, deciding against risking ties with a likely new government in New Delhi. The U.S. Trade Representative avoided labeling India with the worst offender tag in its annual scorecard on protecting U.S. patents, copyrights and other intellectual property (IP) rights. Instead, the United States kept India, which is in the midst of elections, on its Priority Watch List along with China and eight other countries. It would start a special review of India in the fall and "redouble" efforts to address concerns with the new government, the U.S. Trade Representative said. Full Story | Top |
| CSX oil train derails in Virginia, leaks into river Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 05:22 PM PDT  By Selam Gebrekidan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A CSX Corp train carrying crude oil derailed and burst into flames in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia, on Wednesday, spilling oil into the James River and forcing hundreds to evacuate. In its second oil-train accident this year, CSX said 15 cars of a train traveling from Chicago to Virginia derailed at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Fire that erupted on three of the cars was extinguished several hours later, the company said. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Sea drilling, deals to remain slow in coming year Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 04:10 PM PDT High operating costs and dwindling reserves will result in low drilling activity and few takeover deals in the North Sea over the coming year, consultancy Deloitte said in a quarterly report on Thursday. Well drilling in the North Sea fell year-on-year in the first quarter as poor weather and high costs hampered exploration and appraisal work, Deloitte said. British reserves in the North Sea are falling rapidly after around 40 years of production, making it one of the most mature oil and gas basins in the world and posing a tax revenue challenge to the government. "Operators are definitely showing more caution, indicating, again, that incentives from government may be the only way to make the economics more viable," said Graham Sadler, managing director of Deloitte's Petroleum Services Group. Full Story | Top |
| Exelon to become top U.S. power distributor with Pepco buy Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 04:07 PM PDT  Exelon Corp said it would buy Pepco Holdings Inc for $6.83 billion, helping it overtake Duke Energy Corp as the biggest power distribution company in the United States. The deal will allow Exelon to sell more power at stable rates set by regulators at a time when an abundance of cheap natural gas is dragging down power prices in the open market. Exelon's move to reduce its exposure to the vagaries of the wholesale power market comes as U.S. utilities struggle with falling electricity demand in both the open and regulated markets due to increased energy efficiency and a weak economy. Full Story | Top |
| UK lawmakers plan to probe Pfizer pursuit of AstraZeneca Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 03:34 PM PDT  By Kylie MacLellan and Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmakers intend to investigate U.S. drugmaker Pfizer's planned $100 billion takeover of British rival AstraZeneca in a bid to ensure scientific research and jobs are protected. "We will see how events pan out over the next few days, but clearly given the scale of the proposed merger it is important that we consider the impact not just on shareholders but also on employees and the wider interests of the UK." AstraZeneca, Britain's second-biggest drugmaker behind GlaxoSmithKline, is an important part of the life sciences sector and employs nearly 7,000 staff in the country. The committee's chairman Andrew Bailey said it would be looking to hold an inquiry "pretty quickly", and those called to give evidence were likely to include ministers such as Business Secretary Vince Cable and representatives from the Treasury. "In AstraZeneca we have a company that amounts to 2.3 percent of our total exports, is a world leader in research in pharmaceuticals and is very strategically positioned in this country." Committee member Katy Clark said Pfizer's management would also probably be among those called to any inquiry. Full Story | Top |
| MPs plan to probe Pfizer pursuit of AstraZeneca Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 03:33 PM PDT  By Kylie MacLellan and Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - MPs intend to investigate U.S. drugmaker Pfizer's planned $100 billion (59.2 billion pounds) takeover of British rival AstraZeneca in a bid to ensure scientific research and jobs are protected. "We will see how events pan out over the next few days, but clearly given the scale of the proposed merger it is important that we consider the impact not just on shareholders but also on employees and the wider interests of the UK." AstraZeneca, Britain's second-biggest drugmaker behind GlaxoSmithKline, is an important part of the life sciences sector and employs nearly 7,000 staff in the country. The committee's chairman Andrew Bailey said it would be looking to hold an inquiry "pretty quickly", and those called to give evidence were likely to include ministers such as Business Secretary Vince Cable and representatives from the Treasury. "In AstraZeneca we have a company that amounts to 2.3 percent of our total exports, is a world leader in research in pharmaceuticals and is very strategically positioned in this country." Committee member Katy Clark said Pfizer's management would also probably be among those called to any inquiry. Full Story | Top |
| CSX train carrying oil derails in Virginia in fiery blast Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 03:19 PM PDT  By Selam Gebrekidan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A CSX Corp train carrying crude oil derailed and burst into flames in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia on Wednesday, spilling oil into the James River and forcing hundreds to evacuate. CSX said 15 cars on a train traveling from Chicago to Virginia derailed at 2:30 p.m. EDT. The fiery derailment a short distance from office buildings in the city of 77,000 was sure to bring more calls from environmentalists and activists for stricter regulations of the burgeoning business of shipping crude oil by rail. JoAnn Martin, the city's director of communications, said three or four tank cars were leaking, and burning oil was spilling into the river, which runs to Chesapeake Bay. Full Story | Top |
| Scientists urge government to save Britain's pharma industry Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 03:17 PM PDT  By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Leading British scientists called on the government on Wednesday to act now to save the nation's pharmaceutical industry from being swallowed up in a wave of consolidation driven by overseas rivals. In a statement prompted by a planned $100 billion (59.26 billion pounds) takeover of Britain's AstraZeneca by rival U.S. drugmaker Pfizer, leaders in pharmacology, biology, chemistry and biochemistry said the entire UK life sciences sector risked losing its lead. "The UK has been a world leader in medicines research and development, but recent closures and restructuring put this position under threat," they said. AstraZeneca, Britain's second-biggest drugmaker behind GlaxoSmithKline, is an important part of the sector and employs nearly 7,000 staff in the country. Full Story | Top |
| Researchers say Neanderthals were not our dimwitted inferiors Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 02:48 PM PDT  That's the message a pair of researchers delivered on Wednesday after analyzing archaeological evidence detailing the capabilities of Neanderthals, our closest extinct human relative, compared to the early modern humans who first crossed their path about 40,000 years ago. The researchers said the findings show Neanderthals were anything but the incompetent dimwits that they are often deemed. "We found no data in support of the supposed technological, social and cognitive inferiority of Neanderthals compared to their modern human contemporaries," said Wil Roebroeks, an archaeologist at the Leiden University in the Netherlands. "The vision of primitive club-wielding brutes who in the end vanished when superior modern humans entered their world has been obsolete for a long time already," Roebroeks added. Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare puts a floor under U.S. economy in first quarter Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 02:08 PM PDT  Healthcare spending increased at its fastest pace in more than three decades. That surge is attributed to the implementation of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. "GDP growth would have ... been negative were it not for healthcare spending," said Harm Bandholz, chief economist at UniCredit Research in New York. Healthcare spending increased at a 9.9 percent annual rate, the quickest since the third quarter of 1980, and it contributed 1.1 percentage points to GDP growth. Full Story | Top |
| CSX says fire on derailed train in Virginia extinguished Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 02:06 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - CSX Corp. on Wednesday said the fire on its derailed train in Lynchburg, Virginia, was extinguished Wednesday afternoon. The company said earlier that 15 train cars derailed at 2:30 p.m. ET on its train carrying crude and traveling from Chicago to Virginia. Three of these caught fire earlier in the afternoon. CSX did not disclose the cause of the derailment. No injuries were reported. (Reporting by Selam Gebrekidan; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Full Story | Top |
| White House has not yet received EPA's final rule on 2014 ethanol mandates Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 01:40 PM PDT  A spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said on Wednesday that the agency is not yet reviewing a final rule on 2014 biofuel blending requirements, quashing rumors the rule has been submitted for White House review. The agency in charge of the rule, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has instead submitted a different rule related to the biofuel blending program, the spokesman said. It does not include the 2014 biofuel blending requirements. The rule's submission had fueled rumors among traders that the EPA had finalized its much-awaited blending requirements for 2014. Full Story | Top |
| Oregon skeleton may solve one of oldest U.S. missing persons cases Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 01:37 PM PDT By Shelby Sebens PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - Forensic experts are close to finding out if a skeleton found with gunshot damage to the skull belongs to an Oregon marshal whose 1926 disappearance remains one of the country's oldest unsolved missing persons cases, officials said on Wednesday. Oregon officials are seeking DNA samples from potential relatives of Marvin Clark, a former Linnton town marshal who disappeared from Tigard, Oregon, when he went to see his physician in Portland and never returned. Oregon forensic anthropologist Nici Vance said some DNA test results were already pending on the skeleton, found in 1986 in Linnton - now a neighborhood in Portland - with wire-rimmed eyeglasses similar to those worn by the marshal. If the remains turn out to be Clark's, it will close the second oldest missing persons case in the country, according to Todd Matthews, spokesman for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). Full Story | Top |
| Are nail salon UV lamps a skin cancer risk? Wednesday, Apr 30, 2014 01:18 PM PDT By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The ultraviolet lamps used in some nail salons to dry and cure nail polish deliver the same hazardous rays as tanning beds, but it would take many manicures to actually cause damage, suggests a new study. After testing 17 different lamps in nail salons, researchers calculated that it would take between eight and 208 visits - depending on the machine - to damage skin cells in a way that raises cancer risk. "I wouldn't tell a patient to stop going unless they were going multiple times a month," lead author Dr. Lyndsay Shipp from Georgia Regents University in Augusta told Reuters Health. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a risk factor for most skin cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. Full Story | Top |
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